Perfect autumn weather

Just a beautiful mid - twenties day and no wind. We decided on Mudbrick Vineyard and Restaurant for lunch and by chance it was the best yet , so it has been a steady progression upwards. I've taken a star off Cable Bay for having flies in their restaurant (don't believe the waiter's excuse that came in because of grape picking).

Now Mudbrick is *****. New York Times describes the complex as "achingly beautiful" - don't know about that but it is certainly cleverly designed and in a gorgeous location. You enter through a French potager garden - little hedges around tiny gardens of salad vegetables surrounded by lavender, rosemary and standardised olives - then through into a large open terrace where the restaurant is with that stunning view across the water to Auckland, today very clear.